Moving On

Saturday, October 19, 2024

In my part-time work of selling jewelry in a large department store, I find many women shoppers deciding to tell me about their lives and their current, changing status. Generally, these women are in their seventies and beginning to cope with significant life changes. Those could be caused by a husband losing memory and becoming very dependent, or because a husband recently passed away, or because an individual is rethinking her life following an illness.

These ladies have in common that most have cycled through typical life phases, such as marrying, mothering, working, and retiring. Now, each faces a forced transition, and her future lacks the ongoing support and typical responsibilities she has understood, accepted, and accommodated for most of her life.

These women exhibit strength by articulating their situations and actively searching for different futures. Maybe they tell me their personal stories because I like people, and in the right circumstances, I will listen and ask questions.

My usual advice for exploring women is to “join a shared-interest group.” Most want to start “finding themselves,” identify as “newly alone,” and actively seek new roles, among others with similar lifestyles and interests.

At this point, I’m sorry to break away, but now I am running late for leaving to sell jewelry. I’m thinking about those women in transition and will say more in a future blog.

Dear Friends: New issues pioneered by people outliving typical expectations. Diana